Synthesis and Cytotoxicity Evaluation of Metal‐Chelator‐Bearing Flavone,Carbazole, Dibenzofuran,Xanthone, and Anthraquinone

2‐(Aryloxymethyl)‐5‐benzyloxy‐1‐methyl‐1H‐pyridin‐4‐ones 8a – 8g , 2‐(aryloxymethyl)‐5‐hydroxy‐4H‐pyran‐4‐ones 9a – 9g , and 2‐(aryloxymethyl)‐5‐hydroxy‐1‐methyl‐1H‐pyridin‐4‐ones 10a – 10g were prepared from the known 5‐benzyloxy‐2‐(hydroxymethyl)pyran‐4‐one ( 3 ) in a good overall yield. These compounds were evaluated in vitro against a three‐cell lines panel consisting of MCF7 (breast), NCI‐H460 (lung), and SF‐268 (CNS), and the active compounds passed on for evaluation in the full panel of 60 human tumor cell lines derived from nine cancer cell types. The results indicated that 5‐hydroxy derivatives are more favorable than their corresponding 5‐benzyloxy precursors ( 10a – 10g vs. 8a – 8g ), and 1‐methyl‐1H‐pyridin‐4‐ones are more favorable than their corresponding pyran‐4(1H)‐ones ( 10a – 10g vs. 9a – 9g ). Among these three types of compounds, 2‐(aryloxymethyl)‐5‐hydroxy‐1‐methyl‐1H‐pyridin‐4‐ones 10a – 10g were the most cytotoxic; they inhibited the growth of almost all the cancer cells tested. On the contrary, compound 8a (a mean GI₅₀=27.8 μM ), 8b (38.5), 8d (11.0), and 8e (30.5) are especially active against the growth of SK‐MEL‐5 (a melanoma cancer cell) with a GI₅₀ of <0.01, 5.65, 0.55, and 0.03 μM , respectively (cf. Table 2).     

Determination of unbound cefamandole in rat blood by microdialysis and microbore liquid chromatography

To analyze unbound cefamandole in rat blood, a method combing microdialysis with microbore liquid chromatography has been developed. A microdialysis probe was inserted into the jugular vein/right atrium of male Sprague-Dawley rats to examine the unbound cefamandole level in the rat blood following cefamandole administration (50 mg/kg, i.v.). The dialysates were directly submitted to a liquid chromatographic system. Samples were eluted with a mobile phase containing acetonitrile-methanol-100 mM monosodium phosphate (pH 5.0; 15:20:65, v/v). The UV wavelength was set at 270 nm for monitoring the analyte. Using the retrograde method, at infusion concentrations of 1 microg/mL of cefamandole, the in vivo microdialysis recoveries were 55.44% for the rat blood (n = 6). Intra- and inter-assay accuracy and precision of the analyses were < or = 10% in the range of 0.1-10 microg/mL. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated from the recovery-corrected dialysate concentrations of cefamandole vs time data. The elimination half-life (t1/2,beta) was 21.6 +/- 1.6 min. The results suggest that the pharmacokinetics of unbound cefamandole in blood following cefamandole administration (50 mg/kg, i.v., n = 5) fit best to the two-compartmental model.     

A sensitive and specific method for the determination of total ribavirin in human red blood cells by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive and specific method using high-performance liquid chromatography (LC)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS) for the analysis of total ribavirin in human red blood cells (RBC) is developed and validated. The method involves the addition of an internal standard and perchloric acid, the conversion of ribavirin phosphorylated metabolites to ribavirin, purification with a solid-phase exchange cartridge, and LC-MS-MS analysis. The MS-MS is selected to monitor m/z 245-113 for ribavirin and m/z 250-113 for [13C]ribavirin using positive electrospray ionization. The calibration curve is linear over a concentration of 100-10,000 ng/mL with a limit of quantitation of 100 ng/mL. Mean interassay accuracy for quality control (QC) at 100, 1000, and 10,000 ng/mL are 101.8%, 99.4%, and 98.8%, respectively. Mean interassay precision (%CV) for QC at 100, 1000, and 10,000 ng/mL are 5.0%, 5.0%, and 2.5%, respectively. Extractibility of total ribavirin from RBC is confirmed with RBC obtained from a [(14)C]ribavirin-dosed monkey. The method is used to determine the free and total ribavirin concentration in human RBC obtained from hepatitis C patients treated with ribavirin.     

The influences of solid-phase organic constituents on the partition of aliphatic and aromatic organic contaminants

The influence of natural organic matter (NOM) constituents on contaminant distribution coefficients was evaluated by determining the Koc values of aromatic and aliphatic organic compounds (solutes) with clays modified with both aromatic- and aliphatic-rich organic constituents. The studied compounds consisted of naphthalene, phenanthrene, n-pentane, and 2,3,4-trimethylmethane; the solid samples comprised two clays with little organic content, kaolinite and Ca-montmorillonite. Two aliphatic surfactants and three aromatic dyes, sorbed to the clays, served as reference NOM constituents. For solutes of comparable water solubilities, the organic-carbon normalized distribution coefficients (Koc) of the aliphatic solutes between sorbed aliphatic organic matter and aqueous solution slightly exceed those of the aromatic solutes. By contrast, the aromatic solutes exhibited higher Koc values than did the aliphatic compounds with sorbed aromatic-rich organic matter. The difference in Koc values could be attributed to either comparable solubility parameters or the difference in the chemical structure between nonionic organic solutes and specific components of the simulated NOM. The much higher Koc values observed for the aromatic solutes indicate that the NOM composition is a major factor determining the NOC environmental distribution.     

Protein family classification and functional annotation

With the accelerated accumulation of genomic sequence data, there is a pressing need to develop computational methods and advanced bioinformatics infrastructure for reliable and large-scale protein annotation and biological knowledge discovery. The Protein Information Resource (PIR) provides an integrated public resource of protein informatics to support genomic and proteomic research. PIR produces the Protein Sequence Database of functionally annotated protein sequences. The annotation problems are addressed by a classification-driven and rule-based method with evidence attribution, coupled with an integrated knowledge base system being developed. The approach allows sensitive identification, consistent and rich annotation, and systematic detection of annotation errors, as well as distinction of experimentally verified and computationally predicted features. The knowledge base consists of two new databases, sequence analysis tools, and graphical interfaces. PIR-NREF, a non-redundant reference database, provides a timely and comprehensive collection of all protein sequences, totaling more than 1,000,000 entries. iProClass, an integrated database of protein family, function, and structure information, provides extensive value-added features for about 830,000 proteins with rich links to over 50 molecular databases. This paper describes our approach to protein functional annotation with case studies and examines common identification errors. It also illustrates that data integration in PIR supports exploration of protein relationships and may reveal protein functional associations beyond sequence homology.     

Intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of cyclo-1,3-diene-tethered nitrile oxides

Intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of cyclo-1,3-diene- and -1,3,5-triene-tethered nitrile oxides gave tricyclic isoxazolines as a single stereoisomer in most cases. The relative stereochemistry of tricycle-fused isoxazolines resulting from 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of cyclo-1,3-diene-tethered nitrile oxides is cis-cis, whereas from cyclohepta-1,3,5-triene-tethered nitrile oxides the cis-trans isomer predominates.     

Amperometric morphine sensing using a molecularly imprinted polymer-modified electrode

This study incorporates morphine into a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the amperometric detection of morphine. The polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), PEDOT, is an electroactive film that catalyzes morphine oxidation and lowers the oxidization potential on an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode. The MIP-PEDOT modified electrode is prepared by electropolymerizing PEDOT onto an ITO electrode in a 0.1 M LiClO₄ solution with template addition (morphine). After template molecule extraction, the oxidizing current of the MIP-PEDOT modified electrode is measured in a 0.1 M KCl solution (pH = 5.3) at 0.75 V (versus Ag/AgCl/sat’d KCl) with the morphine concentration varying in the 0.1-5 mM range. A linear range, displaying the relationship between steady-state currents and morphine concentrations, from 0.1 to 1 mM, is obtained. The proposed amperometric sensor could be used for morphine detection with a sensitivity of 91.86 μA/cm² per mM. A detection limit of 0.2 mM at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 is achieved. Moreover, the proposed method can discriminate between morphine and its analogs, such as codeine.     

The Photochemistry of Ch3I in Various Matrices at Low Temperature

The photodissociation of methyl iodide in various matrices at low temperature was studied. The observed Raman spectra excited by 514.5 nm laser radiation showed that there were two different photolytically produced iodine species isolated in the matrices after illumination by a medium pressure mercury lamp. One species which was dominant at lower iodine concentrations and exhibited a progression with an ωe of 201 cm^?1, belonged to the matrix isolated iodine monomer (I₂). The other species, which was dominant at higher iodine concentrations with an ω_e of approximately 180 cm^?1, belonged to the iodine aggregate ((I₂)_n). Five progressions of resonance Raman or resonance fluorescence of these two species were also observed in the other matrices. The iodine aggregate in the methyl iodide matrix at 77 K was formed in a crystalline structure, while the photolytically generated iodine aggregate from CH₃I/Ar (2/3) matrix at 10 K, after illumination with a mercury lamp, was in amorphous form. The rearrangement of photolytically produced iodine aggregate in methyl iodide matrix was observed as a function of the duration of illumination. Local heating effects of the laser radiation might induce the iodine monomer to aggregate in matrices. The photodissociation mechanism of methyl iodide in matrices is also proposed.     

On the first excited state of137Ba

The first excited state of¹³⁷Ba has been excited by the inelastic scattering of accelerator-produced neutrons. The energy of this state at 283.5 keV is not in agreement with the generally accepted value of 279.2 keV, but is in accord with other recent measurements. No evidence for a doublet of states near this energy is found.     

Acyl and α-Ketoacyl Complexes of Pt(II) with Weak Donor Ligands

Treatment of trans-Pt(COCOPh)(Cl)(PPh₃)₂ (1a) with AgBF₄in THF led to the formation of a metastatic complex trans-[Pt(COCOPh)(THF)(PPh₃)₂](BF₄) (2) which readily underwent ligand substitution to give a cationic aqua complex trans-[Pt(COCOPh)(OH₂)(PPh₃)₂](BF₄) (5a). Complex 5a has been characterized spectroscopically and crystallographically. Analogous reaction of trans-Pt(COCOOMe)(Cl)(PPh₃)₂ (1b) with Ag(CF₃SO₃) in dried CH₂C1₂ was found first to yield a methoxyoxalyl triflato complextrans-Pt(COCOOMe)(OTf)(PPh₃)₂ (6). Attempts to crystallize the triflato product in CH₂-cl₂hexane under ambient conditions also afforded an aqua complex of the triflate salt f/wu-[Pt(COCOOMe)(OH₂)(PPhj)₂](CF₃SO₃) (5b). Complex 5a in a noncoordinating solvent such as CH₂C1₂ or CHCl₃ suffered spontaneous decarbonylation to form first cis-[Pt(COPh)(CO)(PPh₃)₂l(BF₄) (3a) then the thermodynamically stable isomer trans-[Pt(COPh)(CO)(PPh₃)₂](BF₄) (3b). Crystallization of complex 3b under ambient conditions resulted in an aqua benzoyl complex trans-[Pt(COPh)(OH₂)(PPh₃)₂](BF₄) (7). The replacement of the H_2O ligand in complex 7 by CO was done simply by bubbling CO into the solution of 7. The single crystal structures of 5b and 7 have been determined by X-ray diffraction. The distances of the Pt-O bonds in 5a, 5b, and 7 support that the aqua ligand is a weak donor in such cationic aquaorganoplatinum(lI) complexes, in agreement with their lability to the substitution reactions.